DeSantis + GOP Legislature = Freedom

Florida’s limited government constitutional conservative Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has just lifted the state’s remaining (and already very light) COVID-19 restrictions and

mandates. This means the state’s economy and the day-to-day activities of its citizens are completely free of unscientific liberty-robbing government interference.

DeSantis has long been hailed as the model pandemic governor; the first to focus on protecting the elderly and the first to recognize that much of the COVID commentary coming out of Washington was devoid of any scientific justification and could be ignored in favor of less economically damaging policies.

After September, DeSantis quickly re-opened most of the state, a move that boosted DeSantis’ standing with national Republicans who saw Florida’s pandemic response as a model for conservatives. It also intensified Democrats' loathing because he never instituted a state mask mandate and used his executive authority to block local governments from fining residents who violated local government’s emergency COVID orders.

Click here to see what one small business owner said about Governor DeSantis’ battle to protect small businesses from destructive and unscientific local government mandates.

But there’s something else in Governor DeSantis character and policies that have earned him our respect and support in the wake of the pandemic the Chinese Communists loosed on the world.

Ron DeSantis is the first and only governor to willingly cede or give up power as a result of the pandemic.

While other governors, especially Democrats such as Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, New York’s Andrew Cuomo, New Jersey’s Phil Murphy, California’s Gavin Newsome and New Mexico’s Michelle Lujan Grisham have used the pandemic to unilaterally expand their powers to impose unprecedented restrictions on economic activity and personal liberty in their states, Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has done just the opposite.

The just-passed “lessons learned” legislation DeSantis urged upon the Florida legislature actually reduces the power of government to use trumped-up “emergencies” to oppress the citizens of Florida.

The legislation DeSantis signed on Monday, (SB 2006), gives the Florida governor broader authority to invalidate orders local governments issue such as mask mandates. It also bans so-called “vaccine passports,” which conservatives have used to attack the Biden administration and fuels the well-founded fear that big government is trying to track its citizens.

And in signing the legislation into law, Governor DeSantis pointed out that it gives the legislature veto power over future declarations of emergency.

DeSantis noted when he signed the bill that it checks his power by allowing the Legislature to pass a resolution that would invalidate a gubernatorial-signed executive order. Unlike legislation, the resolution does not require the governor’s signature reported POLITICO.

Ron DeSantis’ record of walking the walk of constitutional liberty has vaulted him into the top tier of potential Republican national candidates.

POLITICO reported former President Donald Trump said that he would “certainly” consider DeSantis as a potential running mate should he decide to mount a third White House campaign in 2024.

“He’s a friend of mine. I endorsed Ron, and after I endorsed him, he took off like a rocket ship. He’s done a great job as governor,” Trump told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo in an interview.

“A lot of people like that — you know, I’m just saying what I read and what you read — they love that ticket,” Trump added. “But certainly, Ron would be considered. He’s a great guy.”

However, if Trump declines to run for office again, DeSantis is well-positioned to occupy a conservative space within the party that could catapult him to the 2024 presidential nomination.

During an event in South Carolina this past February brought together by the Bradley Foundation and filled with conservative donors, DeSantis, who was in attendance, spoke for almost an hour about his approach to governance, reported the Business Insider.

In the speech, DeSantis detailed his opposition to widespread lockdowns in the Sunshine State.

Last month, in response to President Joe Biden signaling the possibility of additional coronavirus restrictions if people weren't "vigilant," DeSantis said that any sort of lockdown in his state would be "insane."

"That's not gonna happen in the state of Florida," he said at the time. "We're gonna continue doing what works, but under no circumstances would we entertain anything of the sort."

Such talk, noted the Business Insider, has made DeSantis a darling of conservative circles as many donors take a wait-and-see approach to Trump's eventual 2024 plans.

Governor DeSantis is up for reelection in 2022 and major donors from across the country are committing to help his campaign, according to POLITICO. The way we see it, those donors are also making a cagey bet that if former President Trump does not run, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida is the candidate to back in the 2024 GOP primaries.

• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

• Florida Legislature

• 2020 Election

• Donald Trump

• COVID restrictions

• Florida economy

• Small businesses

• Personal liberty

• Mask mandates

• SB 2006

• Vaccine passports

• Emergency Declarations

• 2024 GOP candidates

• lockdowns